The Tale of The Black Pearl
by Fightingrose
Summary: This be the tale of Pearl,who's adventure of love, betrayal, and survival, will rival that of her future son's, Jack Sparrow. On hold unless I get reviews.
1. Chapter 1

Pearl crept down the stairs at a painstakingly slow pace. She had to watch out for the last stair, it always creaked. She paused at the door to the study and listened. The sound of laughter and clinking glasses met her ears. Clutching the sword and her pack to her chest she slid into the hall. Just a few more steps and she would be free. Her hand was on the knob when the door to the study opened. Light spilled into the hall along with loud laughter, without pausing Pearl yanked the door open and rushed into the night.

Running down the street, Pearl made for the wharves. As she went she tugged her newly cut hair into her cap and tucked her shirt into her breeches. Clutching her sword closer to he chest she paused in the shadow of a building. Peering carefully around the brick wall, she looked at her quarry, which happened to be a ship. Squaring her shoulders, she scooped a bit of grime from the street and rubbed it on her face and hands. She walked towards the tall man who was supervising the loading of the cargo and cleared her throat.

"Sir, if I might have word wit you?" Pouring on the fake accent, Pearl bowed low to the ground. "I's just a lowly black smiths son, my pop jus died and I's thought I heard the sea a' calling to me. If I might be so humble, might you 'ave a position 'en yer lovely ship for a young lad like me?" Pearl looked hopefully at the man above her. He gave her an appraising look and nodded.

"All right, the cook needs a helper, don't get in the way, you'll get your pay at the end of the voyage. Get yourself into the galley and stay out of trouble. You do know what kind of ship this is?" Seeing the shake of her head he sighed. "It's part of her majesty's navy. You're signing on at your own risk."  
"S'alright sir, I figure my life is a small price to pay fer her majesty." With that, Pearl hurriedly shuffled onto the ship. Sidestepping rushing sailors, she made her way to the galley. Where a small man was banging pots and pans around while muttering to himself. He turned and looked at Pearl.

"Put your things over there, and start chopping these onions, and don't cut off your fingers, it hurts." Pearl chuckled and dumped her pack and sword in a corner. She started to wonder why no one had asked about her sword when a knife was thrust into her hand and she was pushed towards a table spread with various vegetables. "Stop lazing and start chopping!" The man glowered at her and Pearl hurriedly started chopping the onions. As she worked, she thought about what she had just done.

Pearl Alastor had just run away from an arranged marriage with the most beastly man in the world. On her birthday just a week ago, Pearl had the luck to be appointed the future wife of one Bill Turner. Bill Turner just happened to be the owner of a successful trading company, New World Trading, he was the young successful heir to a fortune and Pearl's father had decided she needed to share in that fortune, and pass some of it off to him as well. Pearl started chopping faster at the thought of the man she was engaged to. With his good looks, wit, and money, he was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in England; unfortunately Pearl was considered one of the most, if not the most beautiful girl in England. With waist length hair and a perfect face, she was the object of many unwanted attentions. But her admirers were gone along with her hair; it was time for her to start afresh.

Pearl was starting to question the need for all these onions. What with the lack of hygiene that already existed on the ship, she highly doubted that onions should be used to complement the bad breath that ran rampant among sailors. "Atleast the soldiers should be a bit more clean than the sailors she muttered to herself."

"No such luck lad," said the cook loudly. "The only person on this ship who is clean is the captain. So you'd better get used to the smell." The cook grinned at her and stirred the stew he was making. "My name's Mat, Mat Ellers, and what might you be called?"

"Peter Cane." Pearl looked at the man more closely; he was younger than she had first thought underneath his shaggy hair. Pearl hoped her own tender age of fifteen was not readily apparent; she didn't want to look like a runaway after all. Pearl looked down at her onions but gave a start as the ship lurched.

"We'll be on our way then, I hope you don't get sick lad, it's a frightful mess when it gets in the food." Pearl grimaced at she wondered what exactly what went into the ships food. Seeing her look, the cook laughed. "Don't worry lad, as long as you're working with me, you'll get first dibs on the food, then you don't have to worry about what the sailors n'such do to it." Pearl smiled and looked down again.

Pearl awoke the next morning on a sack stuffed with a thin layer of hay. She lurched to her feet in the kitchen's dim light and frowned as shouts came from above deck. This early in the morning there shouldn't be that many people awake. Another shout came from the deck, this time a man raced down the ladder to the galley shouting, "All hands on deck! Pirates, pirates!" Pearl blanched. Pirates? She grabbed her sword and raced to the deck. She saw Mat and came up beside him.

"What's going on?"

"Pirates lad, oh look, they're going to set off the canons now, you might want to plug your-" BOOM, "ears. Right then, they should be coming on deck soon. Do you know how to use that thing?" He said nodding towards her sword.

"Yes."

"Good, cause if you didn't you'd most certainly die, because you do know how to use it, there's less of a chance you will die." He smiled at her and walked off.

"Wait, how much of a chance?" Pearl watched as he sidestepped the soldiers and sailors that swarmed over the deck. Some were still rubbing sleep from their eyes as they readied muskets, loaded canons, and sharpened swords. Through the smoke and noise of everything Pearl made her way to the side of the ship. She could see another ship that was coming quite close. The black flag was waving on its mast, Pearl gasped as the ship drew nearer and pirates started swinging onto the deck.

Swinging her sword up to deflect a blow from a smelly pirate, she prayed she would get out of this alive and focused on the battle.

When the battle was over, Pearl was still alive. She thanked god for the sailor boy who had taught her to use a sword in exchange for kisses. Pearl looked around her; she was one of the few crewmembers left standing. A pirate pushed her to the side of the ship along with the five remaining members of the crew. As the pirates looted out of the ship, their captain came to stand before the prisoners. He walked along the line asking them each the same question.

"Do you join, or die pretty boy." He asked her. Pearl looked around nervously. Three of the five had joined, one had not. He had been thrown into the ocean. Pearl was the last one to be asked. She looked around at the watching pirates and looked for any way out. She wished she still had her sword. "You know, you look an awful lot like a girl I once met. The daughter of a merchant I once attacked, what was his name, oh yes Andrew Alastor." The pirate looked at Pearl appraisingly as she paled. He suddenly whipped his sword around and cut the front of her shirt. She scrambled away and tried to hold together the binding that he had cut loose. He laughed and stepped closer. "Well lookey here men, we got ourselves a woman." Jeers and laughter went up from the men as they all stepped closer. "You know, it's bad luck to have a woman on board I might just kill you now."

Pearl gasped and stood straighter. "You wouldn't want to do that, I can be useful to you."

"Oh, that you could, to me and all my men." Pearl stepped closer to the rail of the ship and tried to calm her heart.

"W-what I mean is, I know things that could be useful to you. I know routes and schedules of the New Worlds Trading Company. And my fiancée or father would pay a rather large reward for me. You wouldn't want to kill me, then you would have a lot of trouble on your hands." The pirate looked at her again, but Pearl couldn't read anything from his face.

"Take her to the ship and get her to my cabin. There you will find clothes appropriate to your gender," he said mockingly. Pearl narrowed her eyes at him as two pirates carried her over the gangplank to the pirate ship. As she was taken aboard, Pearl wondered what she had gotten herself into.


	2. Chapter 2

Pearl looked carefully at the cabin the pirates had locked her in, A large bed dominated one corner. Its burgundy drapes matched those that adorned the windows. A dark oak desk sat against one wall along with a large liquor cabinet. Pearl looked for the clothes that the captain had mentioned. She saw an imposing closet set into one wall and opened it. Inside a mixture of dresses and mens clothes hung. Pearl noted that all of the dresses had uncommonly low neck lines she pulled out a silky blue dress that looked to have a higher neck line than the others, and stepped behind the dressing screen. She pulled on the white under dress that matched the gown and reached for the overdress, instead her hand met another hand. Pearl snatched her hand back and stifled a small gasp.

"Well love, looks as though you've found the clothes." Pearl scowled and snatched the dress from the hand that held it.

"You know captain, it is considered the height of impropriety to enter a lady's dressings space if you aren't her husband." A Low chuckle came from behind the screen. Pearl hurriedly pulled on the dress and stepped from behind the screen. The captain looked over her and gave a lazy smile.

"You might make an alluring lady if your hair weren't chopped."

"So I've been told," muttered Pearl, thinking of Bill. The captain grinned and motioned to a table set in the center of the room.

"How is it that I didn't hear a sound of all this table moving and sneaking in?" Pearl questioned suspiciously.

"Well love I wouldn't be much of a pirate if my every move were known." Pearl harrumphed and sat down quite indelicately.

"Speaking of being known, I don't know your name." Pearl waited as the captain sat down.

"Well love, my name is captain John Sparrow. Otherwise known as Justice John and his Jurors."

"Justice John?" Pearl couldn't see a pirate being named Justice.

"Yes love, Justice, I have a certain sense of justice that some find, uncommon."

Pearl snorted. John just smiled and rang a bell that sat on the table. "Shall we eat then love?"

"Stop calling me love! I'm not your love!"

"Right love." Pearl growled as a pirate brought in a steaming tray of food. "Bon appetite." Pearl crabbed a steaming crab claw and hurriedly broke it open. She had not eaten that day. " Did you consider, love, that that food just might be poisoned?" Pearl raised one eyebrow at the pirate who was looking at her cockily. "Did you consider, love," Pearl grinned at John's scowl at the use of his trademark word, "that I might have left a not before I left home telling exactly what ship I was on."

"Well love your not exactly on that ship anymore."

"Ah, you've got me there. I mean really, who could possibly figure out where I am. I mean it's not as though they'll ever notice there was a pirate attack on that ship." Pearl put a particularly thick piece of crab in her mouth and watched as captain John scowled at her.

"Yes Pearl, I assume that is your name?" Pearl nodded. "Well Pearl, you really are a genius, but that will all be wasted unless you start spilling some valuable looting information." John fingered his gun threateningly as he tugged on his dreadlocks.

"Hold on, let me get this piece of crab out." Pearl pretended to be absorbed in the pursuit of a thick piece of crab while the captain stared at her.

"Your very life is in danger and you want crab?"

"Well it's very good you see." His eyes narrowed at her but pearl just narrowed her eyes back at him.

"Start talking pretty lady."

"Alright, I'll take you to one of the most prosperous trading ships in the New Worlds Trading Company, If, I get the ship. You can have all the loot you want, but I get the ship." The captain looked at her appraisingly.

"Alright, do we have an accord?"

"Yes captain, I believe we do." Pearl mentally leaped for joy, as she started figuring out how to foil any attempts Captain John Sparrow might make to foil her plans. A future Piratess had to have a ship after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Pearl took a final dagger from the captain's personal armory and looked at herself. She wore a black coat and breeches under a white shirt that came directly from the captains closet. Her cropped hair was hidden under a captain's hat. Assorted daggers and a sword hung from her person along with a telescope that she had filched from the captain when he wasn't looking.

Pearl smoothed her clothes one more time, then made her way out of the captain's galley and onto the deck. She almost laughed at the scene that met her.

Sailors were scrambling over the deck, trying to gather up every last weapon on the ship. Looking over the side, Pearl saw why. There a huge ship, equipped with all the latest in weapons and speed, floated, guns at the ready. Hearing a loud roar, Pearl turned to see Captain John emerging from below decks. He stopped in his tracks and stared at the huge ship that was drawing ever closer. He spun and glared at pearl who bowed to him.

"I do believe that is the carrier of your loot." Pearl grinned at the captain.

"What, you said we were looting a trade ship, not a war vessel!"

"That is a trade ship, just a very well equipped one. And remember, Justice John, I get the ship!" Pearls smiled sweetly and tilted her cap over her eyes. As the pirate ship drew closer to the other ship Pearl ran to the rail of the ship to examine the crew.

Captain John came up beside her and at the same time they both reached for a telescope. Unfortunately for Captain John, Pearl had his telescope.

She pulled it out and put it to her eye. She examined the crew while Captain John tapped his foot impatiently. Pearl was about to put the telescope down, when she saw someone on the other ship, someone very nasty, very handsome, and someone who she was very much engaged to. Bill Turner.


End file.
